Public utilities, such as water, power, and gas, are provided to the properties of a number of customers. Utility meters at the customers' properties are used for measuring the usage of these utilities. Additionally, the utility meters may provide data related to pressure, temperature, quality, leaks, bursts and tampering, among other data. In recent years, some utility meters have been equipped with wireless transmission capabilities for transmitting the utility usage data to a meter reader (e.g., a device for reading or recording meter data). The transmission of data allows the meter reader to read utility meters at a distance, without many of the difficulties that are associated with visually reading meters at a residence or business. For instance, the practice of reading utility meters remotely eliminates the need to access the utility meters, which may be inside buildings, hidden behind shrubbery or fences, etc. Also, with wireless transmitting meters, a utility employee does not need to snoop around the sides of houses or encounter potentially hostile pets or wildlife.
With the transmission of utility data, utility companies can use compatible wireless receivers that can be handled by meter reading employees. These employees can carry the receivers within radio range of the customers' meters to obtain the utility data. Often, utility employees can walk or drive down streets, side streets, alleys, etc., to obtain the utility data. Some systems allow the meter reader to remain inside the vehicle without having to experience the problems associated with the typical visual reading methods. In some cases, the wireless receiving equipment may be directly mounted on the vehicle, so that the employee is required to simply drive down the streets where the customers are located.
FIGS. 1A and 1B are side and top views of a meter reading system 10 according to conventional systems. The meter reading system 10 includes a vehicle 12 and an antenna 14 mounted on top of the vehicle 12. The antenna 14 receives wirelessly transmitted signals from the utility meters as the vehicle 12 is driven along the roads where utility customers are located.
FIG. 2 is a bird's eye view of the conventional meter reading system 10 shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B. In this figure, an approximate communication range 16 of the antenna 14 is shown. In this case, the communication range 16 is omnidirectional and substantially forms a circle having a radius “r”. Therefore, in conventional systems, the antenna 14 is able to obtain transmitted utility data from utility meters 18 (e.g., water meters, gas meters, electricity meters) of multiple customers inside the area “a”, which is defined by the range 16 of the antenna 14 and associated equipment. Of course, as the vehicle 12 is driven along the street 20, the radius “r” may stay substantially the same, but the area “a” will change according to the moveable location of the antenna 14. Conventional meter reading systems typically have a communication range 16 of up to about 500 feet.